


One More Mile To Jericho

by PanBoleyn



Series: At The Touch of Your Hand [3]
Category: Suits (TV), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Future Fic, M/M, canon ends at 2.12, telekinetic!Mike
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-30
Updated: 2013-04-30
Packaged: 2017-12-10 01:07:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/780013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PanBoleyn/pseuds/PanBoleyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six years in, and Mike's pushed his luck long enough; it's time to leave the firm before said luck runs out. But here's the thing. He happens to know he's bonded to someone, even if he's never really let himself consider who. So it's entirely possible he has another motive for leaving...</p><p>Hey, if it works, why not give it a go?</p><p>Part of a series, but you don't need to read the others. Though I recommend reading fic 2, at least.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One More Mile To Jericho

**Author's Note:**

> For more detailed info on the 'verse in general, go [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RRVzscbKcuDEmxXE6oe2hPml4E9okdH0fx0sKqUXiqg/edit?usp=sharing)
> 
> Inspired by a kink meme prompt about unknowingly bonding and the amazing fill for said prompt by Closer, but I don't exactly follow the specifics of the prompt.

In the end, the decision to leave Pearson turns out to be easier than Mike had expected. He's been there nearly six years and people are starting to talk. Jessica's tolerated him, but only just, and at this point the gossip mill wants to know what he did to piss her off that has him still in the bullpen after all this time. Louis in particular is suspicious, though oddly sympathetic too – Mike figures that he sees a parallel to his own delayed promotion somewhere in this. Regardless of what it is, a Louis who is even slightly friendly in a non-creepy way at times not including Mike being half-beaten to a pulp is kind of weird, so he doesn't think about it too long.

 

Truth is, Mike wouldn't really care all that much about still being at his original desk if it wasn't for the fact that it's drawing attention. And people who ask questions won't have that far to dig until they find the truth. He can't let that happen. Obviously, he doesn't want to go to jail for fraud, especially since jail time for mutants involves mandatory X-gene suppression treatment, but also... He doesn't want to be the reason Harvey's life ends up shot to hell, and no one will buy that he didn't know Mike has no law degree. When Jessica found out, it was early enough to be plausible, but at this point... Either they will think Harvey knew or really should have; however it goes Mike won't be taking the fall alone and that isn't acceptable.

 

So, obviously, he's going to have to leave. Somehow, Mike thinks Jessica might have had this in mind all along. But then, he endangers her firm just by being here; he's not sure he can entirely blame her. The other thing, the thing he tries not to think about much, well... Actually, leaving will be a good thing, right? Subconscious bonds stay dormant if the two people involved see each other regularly. Mike still doesn't know for sure who he bonded to. He only knows there's a bond because of his old friend Darcy, who's a 'visual empath'. Short version of that is, she sees emotions and connections between people, and she can see soul bonds. According to her, the colors woven in with his 'bond-strand' are distinctive, enough that she could guess who it is without actually seeing it lead to the person in question.

 

He's never asked her, though, because he suspects and he knows he won't be able to hide it if he knows for sure. If he leaves, well... That should kickstart things; separation tends to make subconscious bonds become semi-active, enough to automatically seek each other out.

 

It's a terrible secondary motive. But yeah, he keeps it in the back of his mind. Can anyone blame him? And, well, in the past two years, he's been working on a novel. Three, actually – it's a trilogy. Fantasy, but anyone who knows him will probably pick out where he was inspired by his time at the Institute and with the firm. Apprentice mages, and things like that.

 

He's got a deal for it. And you don't need a degree of any kind to write books. It's no crazier, no riskier than spending six years pretending to be an officially qualified lawyer. So why not?

 

This is really it.

 

~ ~ ~

 

When Harvey gets in on Monday morning, it's typical for as long as it takes him to ride the elevator to his floor and see Donna. From there, it all goes to hell. The look on Donna's face tells him something's wrong without her having to say a word, and when she follows him into his office he knows whatever it is, it's serious. “Mike left,” she says without preamble.

 

“What?”

 

“Mike went to Jessica this morning and gave her his two weeks. Jessica told him to hand off his solo work and go. He left about twenty minutes ago.”

 

That... Donna has to be wrong. It's all but unheard of , but she has to be. Because there's no way Mike would do that. Or if he did, Harvey would know about it. The kid wouldn't leave without telling him. Right?

 

He's in Jessica's office minutes later and she tells him the same thing Donna did. “Your associate quit this morning.”

 

“Which you wanted.” Mike had said as much more than once, and Harvey'd known he was right; Jessica wasn't about to let Mike move up the ranks at all knowing what she did. Harvey hadn't considered she might have been trying to force him to leave, though, and he should have.

 

“Yes, I did. He was a liability, useful or not. What he is doesn't make up for what he isn't. Don't you have a client meeting in twenty minutes?”

 

It's a dismissal, more curt than usual, but that isn't surprising. And probably for the best, since it'll keep him from losing his temper with Jessica like he wants to do and knows he can't. She'll forgive him a lot, but he knows what lines can't be crossed.

 

Harvey turns on his heel and leaves, hand already going to his pocket to call Mike and ream him for pulling a stunt like this. Except... No. He'll give Mike hell, but not just yet. Partly because of pride; he isn't going to be the one who breaks this soon. And partly because he _wants_ to call Mike. Because everything already feels... off with him gone. The hallways are suffocating, but then the windows of his office create open space that's too empty. Harvey can't seem to settle, he can't quite seem to be comfortable in a place that is entirely his. That's wrong, that isn't normal at all. And there's only one difference between today and Friday.

 

Harvey's got the beginnings of what he suspects is going to be a full-blown migraine, and he feels just a little unsteady. It's just the stress of suddenly no longer having a second pair of hands for the busy work, he tells himself. It's just the sting of a betrayal, some other part of him says. It's just...

 

He isn't sure what, exactly, it is. Though he'd have his suspicions if he let himself consider it. He just knows he won't submit to it, and that it has to do with Mike. He's just not quite ready to acknowledge that second part.

 

~ ~ ~

 

A week after leaving Pearson, Mike no longer needs to call up Darcy if he wants to confirm just who it is that he's bonded to. He misses more than one person from his old job, of course; Rachel and Donna are high on the list, and seriously, he's even caught himself missing _Louis_ a time or two. But Harvey... He misses him enough that it seems like it physically hurts, and he's read enough about bonds (damn Nia and her attempt to undo hers) to know that's pretty indicative.

 

On top of that, though he expected this part, his telekinesis is on the fritz; he shattered a glass and after that promptly put on his power inhibitor ring so he didn't make things shatter around him. The ring isn't helping much, though; the energy it gives off has unpleasant side effects for some people and Mike is one of them. Like he doesn't have enough headaches as it is, like the feeling of bond separation sickness isn't bad enough. It's mild because the bond's not active, but the combination is enough to make this week hell on earth.

 

The inability to sleep through the night isn't helping, and he needs to get it together but he really can't.

 

Mike's come this close, more than once, to calling Harvey or even just showing up at his door. What stops him is that he hasn't heard a single word from Harvey since he left. When Jessica told him not to bother with two weeks, just to get his cases reassigned and go, he'd heard from both Donna and Rachel within hours. Hell, he'd even gotten a well-wishing e-mail from Louis. (Again, _weird_ , but there's that odd sympathy again, he guesses.) But from Harvey, nothing.

 

And aside from that, when Donna had called him, after she finished reaming him for not saying a word to anyone about this plan of his, she'd told him Harvey was on a tear, furious with both Jessica and Mike. Mike hasn't quite worked up the nerve to find out if that's still the case, regardless of how much he wants to.

 

Thinking about it doesn't make him feel any better, so on Friday night he settles down on his couch with Chinese takeout, a soda, and a Stargate Atlantis marathon. (SyFy is apparently reliving its glory days, or something.) He's halfway through his Coke and beef with broccoli when someone pounds on his door. Mike considers ignoring it, but that'll leave him with pissed-off neighbors, so he'd better not. Instead, he gets up and opens the door to find Harvey standing there, hand up as though about to bang on the door again.

 

Harvey has the same wired-yet-exhausted look on his face that Mike's been seeing in the mirror over the past few days, and he pushes past Mike into the apartment without so much as a by-your-leave. “Hello to you too, Harvey,” Mike says dryly, closing the door.

 

Harvey glares at him. Ouch. OK, still mad. Good to know. “When were you going to tell me you were leaving? Or did you think a warning from Donna and a 'Your associate quit this morning' from Jessica were good enough?” he snaps, but there's something different here. Harvey's usually cold when angry, Mike knows this all too well. But his eyes are blazing rather than icy, like... Well, Mike isn't quite sure, he's never seen this type of anger before from Harvey, so he's just going to see what happens.

 

With a shrug, he says, “I was gonna tell you right after I gave Jessica my two weeks, but she said move my cases and go. And I was done with that before you were in for the day. I didn't think it was a good idea to hang around.”

 

This, if anything, seems to make Harvey angrier, which Mike really should have predicted. “Oh, after you quit you were going to tell me. That's just perfect.”

 

“You would've tried to stop me if I'd said anything before.”

 

“You're goddamn right I would have. You quit on me, for what?”

 

The derisiveness in Harvey's tone has Mike pissed off now, because really, is he so dense that he can't see why Mike did it? “I had to go,” he says. “People were starting to ask questions about me still being in the bullpen, and I didn't want them asking things that would ruin the cover story.”

 

“This is about not getting promoted? I told you all you had to do was wait it out.”

 

“Wait out Jessica? Like hell, Harvey!”

 

Harvey's face darkens. “You don't – ”

 

“What? Talk to you like that? I have before, and anyway, you're not my boss anymore. But no, since you asked, it's not about being promoted, I didn't mind still being in the fucking bullpen. What I minded was that if someone figured out the truth, that's you and me both completely screwed!” Mike runs a hand through his hair. “Why are you even here right now?” he asks Harvey tiredly, the anger leaving him as quickly as it came.

 

It's a risk to ask why Harvey's here when, pissy as they have both been or not, Harvey here is exactly what Mike wants. But he's tired, so tired of waiting this out, of being all but sure he and Harvey are bonded but afraid to confirm because what if it goes wrong? It was his choice to wait to begin with, so he figures he can choose to push a little now. What's he got to lose?

 

~ ~ ~

 

Harvey isn't sure if it's anger or confusion that stops him from immediately answering Mike's question. He wants to take Mike by the shoulders and shake him, wants to drag him back to the firm because why the hell did he leave? Harvey knows why, of course, he knew more or less even before Mike explained it, but... It's not supposed to be like this, is all he can think and that doesn't make a damn bit of sense. Nothing's felt right since Mike left, though, and he can't deny that.

 

It's confusing, except... Well, Harvey's suspected for a while that maybe there's more to this thing he and Mike have than the natural relationship formed by being mentor and student, or by their shared secret. He took a course at Harvard on bonding law, which included a basic rundown of how bonding works. It's not nearly as straightforward as everyone likes to think, which was mostly what Harvey took from that class – bonding _law_ is pretty easy, bonding itself is kind of crazy. Se he remembers the bit about subconscious bonding, and yeah, the idea occurred to him. He'd never tried to find out for sure, because Mike was his associate and if he was wrong it would probably fuck shit up. Even if he wasn't wrong, it would be at least a little complicated. Once Mike was out of his direct purview, Harvey'd told himself, then he'd settle the matter.

 

That's happened, if not how he pictured it. But Harvey is just so damned angry with Mike, so resentful that everything is wrong without him around. And it only adds insult to injury that when Mike left, he did so without a word, like it was nothing. This has been the week from hell since Donna stopped him on Monday morning to give him the heads-up, and...

 

And now that he stops to really look him over, Harvey realizes that Mike looks as awful as he feels. Like he's been surviving on broken sleep and caffeine the same way Harvey has. Looking at him, Harvey is still kind of tempted to deck him, because he's furious, but mostly what he wants is... “Why am I here?” he repeats, and the low, considering tone of his voice is a surprise even to him. Mike is surprised as well, judging from the way his eyes widen.

 

Harvey takes a step forward and then another, pressing into Mike's personal space. That's hardly unusual; they've spent a lot of time just a little too close, but it's not usually so deliberate. Mike shifts like he's considering moving back, but he doesn't. Instead, his eyes lock with Harvey's in what is so obviously a challenge. And Harvey's never been one to back down from a challenge. He closes what little distance remains between them, one hand cupping the back of Mike's neck as he draws him in.

 

Harvey hadn't thought about it consciously enough to decide if he meant the kiss to be careful or demanding, but it turns out not to matter. There's a moment where all he knows is the way Mike's lips part under his, the feel of long fingers gripping his shoulder. But then it crashes in on him as the bond goes active, a wave of need/relief/love that is all the more powerful for being doubled. He pulls Mike close – or Mike pulls him, it's hard to tell – but the physical almost doesn't seem to matter, when there's so much else he can feel.

 

It's almost impossible, in that moment, to sort out his feelings from Mike's because they're so similar. In the end, he's able to tell the difference because Harvey himself is a bit surprised by this. He'd suspected but never quite _believed_ he was bonded to Mike, had needed this proof for that. Mike, on the other hand, doesn't feel surprised at all. Which means...

 

“You knew,” Harvey says when they finally manage to draw back a little, his voice rough. “You – ”

 

Mike shakes his head, quick like he's afraid if he lets Harvey go on thinking that it'll all go to hell. He might be right about that. “I didn't – not that it was you and me, not for sure anyway. Not until I left and then I... Well, it was the same thing all along, I didn't know how to say anything, so I never tried to find out for sure.”

 

“How?”

 

“I told you I'm telekinetic, that I went to a school for kids like me. One of my friends from those days, she does... It's a kind of empathic ability, only she sees things, and one of the things she picks up on is soulmate bonds. She said she could work out who I was bonded to but I – ”

 

“You never let her.” Actually, put like that Harvey can't blame him. In Mike's place he might well have done the same. Also, he can picture his own reaction if Mike had found out and tried to bring it up, and it would have been an awkward conversation at best.

 

“I thought you'd be pissed,” Mike says. They're still so close, almost breathing each other's air. Despite the wary comment and the matching look in his eyes, Mike's running his hands up and down Harvey's arms, and Harvey's carding his fingers through Mike's hair. It's like they both need to touch. Which they kind of do, really.

 

“I'm still pissed you left like you did. Next time you decide to do something like that, let me know. I hate being blindsided. Keeping quiet about the bond, I get,” Harvey explains, and then he kisses Mike again, because he can. They take it slow this time, almost lazy as their hands start to wander.

 

Mike's fingers find the buttons on Harvey's shirt; Harvey's hands slip under Mike's worn t-shirt. He turns them, nudging Mike back toward the couch. Mike laughs against Harvey's mouth as he goes. “Moving a little fast here, aren't we?” A lot of bondeds fall into bed quickly, but for them this comment is even more ridiculous. Probably why he said it, knowing Mike.

 

“Six fucking years of foreplay, I don't think so, rookie,” Harvey all but growls in response. Because he might not have known they were bonded, but the honest truth is, their banter, the quotes they tossed at each other, even the fights they've had over the years... It's all been leading them here.

 

“Good point,” Mike says, and then shifts so that he can walk them backwards instead of being pushed back, detouring away from the couch and heading for his open bedroom door. Harvey gets a quick glimpse of the room; later he's going to give Mike all kinds of hell for the red shoes his lookalike doll is wearing (and that said doll is even out at all). But right now they're falling onto Mike's conveniently unmade bed, Mike's shirt is off and Harvey's is half off. So, he has more important things to concentrate on just now; ragging on Mike can wait.

 

~ ~ ~

 

When Mike wakes up, at first he isn't sure what happened; there's a restlessness he's had for years that is just suddenly... gone. Then he registers the warmth of someone next to him (a someone as naked as he is) and when he opens his eyes the arm slung around his waist is familiar. Memory comes rushing back then, and Mike is only mostly able to stifle a giddy, incredulous laugh.

 

Mostly stifling turns out not to be enough as Harvey makes an annoyed sound, shifting a little as he wakes up. “It's too early for you to be an idiot, Mike,” he says – at least, Mike _thinks_ so, but Harvey yawns halfway through and that kind of makes it almost unintelligible.

 

“Actually, it's 11:30,” he says, voice still unsteady with suppressed laughter. “Good thing it's Saturday, yeah?”

 

“Smart-ass punk,” Harvey mutters, voice low and rough with sleep in Mike's ear. And, wow, OK, that is really hot but right now Mike is having way too much fun messing with Harvey to let himself get distracted.

 

“You know, I always thought you'd be an 'up at the crack of dawn' kind of guy, not all morning grumpy.” Mike's aware that teasing Harvey like this is probably going to backfire somehow, but he's too giddy to care.

 

Next minute, he's flipped onto his back with Harvey glaring down at him. “You really think you're just hilarious, don't you?”

 

“Maybe a little bit,” Mike says innocently. He considers turning the tables; he could pull it off, especially with his telekinesis adding an extra push to anything he does, but he grins up at Harvey and thinks that he really doesn't want to do that just now.

 

“So, you left, what the hell are you going to do now?” Harvey asks, head tilted just a little as he looks Mike over. Mike laughs.

 

“You're gonna make fun of me.”

 

“I'm going to do that anyway. I thought you got used to it years ago.”

 

“Ha ha.” Mike rolls his eyes. “I, um, actually, I've been, in what free time I had, I've been writing. Fantasy novels. Got a deal for the first one, we'll see where it goes from there.”

 

Harvey smirks at him. “You're right, I am going to make fun of you. You trying to be Tolkien now?”

 

“No, George R.R. Martin.”

 

“Who?”

 

“Dude, don't say that again.”

 

“Don't call me dude.”

 

“Don't we have better things we could be doing right now?”

 

Harvey raises an eyebrow. “I don't know, do we?”

 

And now Mike takes advantage of his extra talent to flip Harvey over and grin down at him. “Yeah, I think so,” he says, and leans down to kiss Harvey quick enough that he doesn't have time to respond. Hey, he's finally figured out a way to stop the teasing!

 

He'll definitely have to keep employing this method.


End file.
